Northumbrian Water's Transferred Drains and Sewers Project Boosted

Northumbrian Water believes they are working smarter since they implemented new kit to the Transferred Drains and Sewers project.

The water company assumed responsibility for an estimated 13,500 km of additional waste water pipes in 2011, but information on this historic infrastructure was extremely limited and needed an accurate location recording.

Following consultation and trials with MGISS; they decided upon the Eos Positioning Systems Arrow 100 with ESRI Collector and work began with the kit last June.

The TDS team were already using tablets and smartphones to collect data and the ability for the device to connect by Bluetooth was advantageous because it meant it would work with the kit they were already using.

The Arrow 100 also offered the option of having sub metre accuracy when the team needed it and gave a flexibility they wouldn’t have been able to achieve with an all in one handheld device.

This has resulted in a productive and more efficient data capture workflow.

Andy Hopkins Northumbrian Water’s GIS and Positioning Technical Consultant said:

“The team can simply attach the Arrow to their tablet or smartphone and instantly have the level of accuracy needed without having cumbersome kit to carry around. We even ordered them with backpacks so the surveyors could work hands free as the antenna is in the backpack.”

“We are testing new technology to make the data capture process much more productive, faster and accurate which could soon make hand drawing amendments a thing of the past. If we can accurately locate and record the position of our assets, then we are able to deal with problems quickly and efficiently.”

“This is a constantly changing business so to some extent we’re always trying to think ahead as to what will be needed next or what regulatory legislation we will need to adhere to and whether this kit will meet these requirements. In future, we may need 10cm or even 1cm accuracy and that range is available to us with the various Arrow products.”

The Eos Positioning Systems Arrow 100, 200 and Gold are available from MGISS along with training on the equipment to get the most out of the products.